Judge Mark Taft was told overcrowding in the Shepparton police station cells was the reason a man being sentenced for serious sexual offences could not be transported to court on Thursday by Corrections Victoria - a response which did not sit well with him.
“I was advised this morning yet again (the man) has not been transported due to capacity issues in the Shepparton police cells,” Judge Taft said.
“This occurred for the second time despite a number of reassurances during the week that he would be brought here ... the Chief Judge is also aware of what has occurred.”
The News understands this was the second time the man was unable to be transported to court for sentencing, with the lack of free cells in Shepparton meaning his previous sentencing on January 31 could not go ahead.
While a video link managed to be arranged on Thursday for the man's sentencing to go ahead, prosecutor Kathryn Hamill told Judge Taft the man's victims, who were in court for the sentencing, were disappointed with the outcome.
“They're in essence disappointed and I suspect to a degree angry - questions were asked of me as to why this has happened again,” she said.
The Shepparton Law Courts building does not have an approved holding cell, meaning in instances were prisoners are brought up from Melbourne they are held in the Shepparton Police Station cells until their court appearance.
Victoria Police confirmed they were continuing to work closely with the courts, Corrections Victoria and the Department of Justice and Community Safety to resolve capacity issues in police cells.
"The number of prisoners being held in police cells statewide is currently very high, including in Shepparton,” a police spokesperson said.
"There has been a significant rise in the number of prisoners in police custody for a number of reasons, including increased police activity in arrests and remands, increased focus on the execution of warrants of apprehension, arrests from targeted operations, a focus on recidivist offenders and changes to bail laws.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Justice and Community Safety said video conferencing was now the default method of court appearance for administrative matters.
They confirmed the department would continue to work closely with relevant parties to facilitate scheduled court proceedings.
"A number of measures have been implemented to meet the growth in court proceedings for Victoria’s growing prison population, including installing almost 100 additional video conferencing units since 2017,” the spokesperson said.
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